The Wikipad Gamevice Brackets Your Tablet With Controls

Wikipad is one of several companies trying to turn Android gaming into a DS-killer. Whether it will be able to do so is an open question, of course, but in the meantime, that’s not going to stop them from trying to get a controller wrapped around your tablet.

Feel The Squeeze

The Gamevice, as you might have guessed, is a controller that your tablet slots between. Attach your tablet and start gaming. Interestingly, Wikipad leans rather heavily on the idea that this will work quite well with your Windows 8 tablet, so presumably they’re hoping that you won’t have already gotten a Windows-friendly controller. If you’re wondering, the layout sticks to Wikipad’s proprietary format, so the analog sticks are way the heck at the top near the triggers. It’s a good layout for holding a tablet, but it can take some getting used to, especially if you didn’t own an Atari Lynx as a kid.

But Who’s It For?

That said, this does raise a few questions, like who this might be for. iOS support isn’t discussed but is claimed to be on the way, but it’s not like it’s hard to find sets of controllers for any platform you can imagine. There are dozens of Android-focused controllers out there, after all, and now that iOS supports controllers, you can expect a flood of similar devices to be hitting Apple Stores and Best Buys across the country. Wikipad’s a bit mum on what makes it stand out, although it is updating its flagship product to address the gripe of a lack of mappable controls soon.

Sooner Or Later

Also, in fine Wikipad tradition, we only know that this is coming in 2014; there’s no price tag yet, and no calendar release date. Those who were eagerly awaiting the Wikipad know all too well that this means we might not see it until next year, but hey, at least if you like the Wikipad layout, you’ll be able to use it on other products.

Innovation? Maybe. I own the Sony xperia z ultra which I can connect the dual shock 3 ps3 controller. Something I could put the z ultra in with dual analog sticks would definitely make my gaming experience unique.